Chapter 238 The Thief's Heart Is Still There

"I haven't seen you for a while, sister. You look a little worse, but I'm glad you're back now."

Jiang Mengyuan took her place, and the palace banquet for the female members of the family officially began. Looking at the Imperial Noble Consort who seemed to have not suffered any hardship, Jiang Mengyuan asked with a sour tone.

"It's all thanks to the Empress. I just returned to the palace and am still feeling a little unwell. I'm afraid I can't stay here any longer. I'll excuse myself first..."

The Imperial Concubine initially responded with a few good-natured responses, but as the conversation continued, a hint of irritation crossed her brows. Wen Liyu and Cheng Weiyao sat together, both intelligent and clearly not needing her attention, so the Imperial Concubine soon felt unwell and left the palace banquet.

Jiang Mengyuan bit her lower lip unwillingly as she watched the Royal Concubine walk away. It was the same old routine again, pretending to be sickly to gain sympathy...

As soon as she arrived at the Imperial Garden, she noticed that there was a clear conflict between the noble ladies and Cheng Weiyao. Unfortunately, Princess Wen Liyu was right next to her, so she couldn't openly find fault with them.

"Suxin, go and invite Princess Mingcheng over. Tell her that I haven't seen her for a while. I got some new jewelry, and ask her if she likes any of it..."

Jiang Mengyuan, who was worried that there was nothing fun to watch, simply asked Su Xin to call Wen Liyu to talk, so as to make time and space for Cheng Weining and others.

Wen Liyu frowned and wanted to refuse, but Cheng Weiyao secretly squeezed her palm. "You'd be a fool not to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, it's the Queen's gift, why not refuse it?" She could handle it herself and didn't need Wen Liyu's help.

After repeatedly confirming with her eyes that Cheng Weiyao could handle it, Wen Liyu stood up and left the banquet, following Suxin towards the small pavilion in front. Jiang Mengyuan was fiddling with her head jewelry while waiting.

As soon as the umbrella left, Cheng Weining realized that he had criticized the wrong point before and quickly shifted his focus.

"Clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha. Clothes are just one of them. You don't even have a decent hair ornament on your head. It's a cheap wooden one. You're obviously still shabby~"

"Isn't it? Miss Cheng, would you like me to give you some jewelry? At least you can use it to save face in occasions like this..."

The ladies learned their lesson this time. They secretly observed for a long time and confirmed that Cheng Weiyao only had a simple carved wooden hairpin on her head before they started a new round of siege.

Cheng Weiyao touched the wooden hairpin on her head and said nonchalantly, "I like it because it's precious. Not everything is judged by its external value. I don't want you to worry about it."

Like? Whatever Cheng Weiyao likes, Cheng Weining will grab it!

However, robbing openly was obviously not a wise move. Knowing that Cheng Weiyao had not attended the private school in the mansion for too long, Cheng Weining confidently began to announce a new way of playing.

"Don't be like that. Giving alms hurts people's feelings. How about this? Every palace banquet has a flying flower order. Let's compete in poetry. The loser takes off a piece of jewelry and uses it as the final prize. How about that?"

As soon as this suggestion came out, the other noble ladies smiled and praised Cheng Weining for her kindness. She could have just given him alms, but she insisted on giving him a fair chance to win it back. But opportunities are not so easy to grasp...

Cheng Weiyao could only laugh inwardly. After all, she was a top graduate from a modern university, even though she had majored in culinary arts. However, while studying the history of food from ancient times to the present, she had also become interested in poetry.

I wouldn't dare to boast and say that I'm full of knowledge, but at least playing a few rounds of Feihualing is not a problem for me.

Feihualing (Flying Flower Order) uses a wide range of poems, lyrics, and songs. The first line generally determines the key phrase. Players can recite verses from previous generations or improvise on the spot. Players take turns answering, and those who fail to answer or make the wrong answer are eliminated.

Cheng Weining was calculating his own plans. With a proper smile on his face and a fair attitude, he started first: "Then I'll start. The hedges are sparse and the path is deep, the flowers on the treetops have fallen but have not formed any shade."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other noble ladies recited the corresponding poems with flowers one after another. Because Cheng Weiyao was in a relatively late position, by the time it was her turn, most of the familiar poems had been recited.

Fortunately, there are also many less popular poems about food, so Cheng Weiyao came up with the poem without hesitation: "The plums are golden yellow, the apricots are plump, the wheat flowers are snow-white, and the cauliflowers are sparse!"

After a few rounds, Cheng Weining could tell something was amiss. With the limited knowledge Cheng Weiyao had, it was impossible for her to last this long. Perhaps it was because she'd been around Wen Chengyun, and she'd been influenced by him...

"Eldest sister, it's your turn now. Could it be that you can't think of anything?"

Cheng Weiyao calmly looked at the frowning Cheng Weining. The other noble ladies had all lost some jewelry to varying degrees. Now that the Feihua Order had begun, it would feel a bit awkward if Cheng Weining didn't shed some money...

"The white snow, however, thinks spring is coming too late, so it flies through the trees in the courtyard. Okay, my sisters, you've almost had your fill, so let's end the flying flower order for today."

Cheng Weining then took the initiative to announce the end of the Feihua Order. As the initiator, stopping it would naturally gain the approval of the other ladies. Her words seemed considerate, but in reality, they were simply because she was completely clueless. If she continued playing, she was bound to lose.

In order to save face today, the jewellery she wore when she went out were all her favourites, and there was absolutely no way she could let that little bitch Cheng Weiyao get away with it!

"What a pity! The eldest lady and the second lady haven't decided the winner yet. I can take my things back..."

The other ladies knew that Cheng Weining might not be defeated, so they spontaneously reached out and took back what they had lost.

Cheng Weiyao sneered inwardly as she watched the noble ladies, each with their own ulterior motives. This was because she was in the upper hand. If she were the loser, she was afraid that this group of people would even take away her underwear.

"That's fine, sister. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please take this off your head!"

Cheng Weining was still determined to do something evil. When one plan failed, she came up with another. She approached Cheng Weiyao intimately, pulled out the wooden hairpin, and threw it away.

The moment Cheng Weiyao reacted, she pushed Cheng Weining aside and chased after him. Because the hairpin fell on the surface of Shuixie Lake, if she really entered the lake, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack...

After being pushed, Cheng Weining wiped her tears with a handkerchief, looking aggrieved. She didn't forget to accuse Cheng Weiyao of being ungrateful: "Maybe that wooden hairpin is really valuable, so my sister pushed me accidentally. She didn't mean to..."

Wen Chengyun held Cheng Weiyao's waist with one hand and held a wooden hairpin in the other, and landed lightly on the ground with his toes. The wind made the hems of their clothes entangled, just like a fairy couple.

"This token of love, carved by my own hands, is truly a token of love, though a small gift."